Method and system for illustrating where a ticket is located in an event venue

ABSTRACT

A system accepts event criteria for at least one ticket and at least one event; accepts price criteria for the ticket(s) and the event(s); displays an interactive graphics-based event venue map illustrating a location of all sections at a venue with at least one ticket meeting the event and price criteria; accepts section selection criteria, at least one section being selected from the interactive graphics-based event venue map; displays ticket information to allow a user to drill down to a specific ticket, cause a location of the specific ticket to be displayed in the interactive venue map; and enable a capability to utilize the interactive venue map to choose a section of interest, causing corresponding ticket information to be displayed in the web browsing language.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a continuation of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/492,599, filed Jun. 8, 2012, which is a continuation of U.S.patent application Ser. No. 12/983,014, filed Dec. 31, 2010, which is acontinuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/552,782 filed onOct. 25, 2006. Each of the above applications is incorporated byreference herein in their entirety.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A shows a system of illustrating where a ticket is located in anevent venue, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIGS. 1B-1I are screen shots illustrating features of a system andmethod of illustrating tickets on an event venue map, according toseveral embodiments of the invention.

FIG. 2 shows a method of illustrating where a ticket is located in anevent venue, according to one embodiment of the invention.

FIG. 3 illustrates methods of correlating the HTML page of the list oftickets (in ticket listing module 115) with the FLASH event venue map(in interactive map module 110), according to one embodiment of theinvention.

FIGS. 4-13 illustrate different optional features of the event venuemap, according to several embodiments of the invention.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS OF THE INVENTION

A system and method is provided for illustrating where at least oneticket is located in an event venue, comprising: accepting eventcriteria for at least one ticket and at least one event; accepting pricecriteria for the at least one ticket and the at least one event;displaying an interactive graphics-based event venue map illustrating alocation of all sections at a venue with at least one ticket meeting theevent criteria and price criteria; accepting section selection criteria,at least one section being selected from the interactive graphics-basedevent venue map; displaying ticket information in a web browsinglanguage corresponding to the section selection criteria, the displayedticket information in the web browsing language being able to beutilized to drill down to a specific ticket, causing a location of thespecific ticket to be displayed in the interactive graphics-based eventvenue map; and enabling a capability to utilize the interactivegraphics-based event venue map to choose a section of interest, causingcorresponding ticket information to be displayed in the web browsinglanguage. The interactive graphics-based event venue map can be inFLASH, or any other application. The web browsing language can be HTML,or any other language.

According to several embodiments of the invention, any kind of event atany kind of venue can be utilized. Furthermore, ticket information caninclude listing information (e.g., tickets available for sale),transaction information (e.g., prices at which tickets have been sold),and/or bid information (e.g., prices at which buyers are willing to payfor tickets). The listing information can include: ticket information onat least one ticket sold at a fixed price; ticket information on atleast one ticket sold at a declining price; or ticket information on atleast one ticket available for auction; or any combination thereof. Inaddition, the system and method are able to interact with third partysites, and can be utilized with any web enabled software application,whether or not hosted by the same party hosting the method. Furthermore,although the event venue map is interactive, other event venue maps maybe illustrated in the system and method that are not interactive, suchas, but not limited to, where an exact location corresponding to anexact ticket is shown on a map just prior to purchase.

FIG. 1A shows a system of illustrating where a ticket is located in anevent venue, according to one embodiment of the invention. In 105, afilter module is presented which allows a user to select pricing andquantity criteria for their ticket search. In one embodiment, the filtermodule is in a Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) format. In 110, aninteractive map module is presented, which can be an interactive map ofthe venue (i.e., an event venue map) in which the event takes place. In115, a ticket listing module is presented, which can be a table-basedrepresentation of ticket listings. This list can be sorted by section,quantity, row, and/or price.

As a user manipulates the elements in each of these modules by clickinga link or selecting a value from a menu, interaction events aregenerated, causing a message to be dispatched to mediator 120, which isthe application that executes in the client web browser. Mediator 120 isresponsible for interpreting each interaction event and making theappropriate communication with the other modules.

The filter module 105 presents the user with a form containing a varietyof input elements. These elements allow the user to filter the ticketlisting module and map according to event, price, and quantity. In oneembodiment, an end user can use event dropdowns, price bucketcheckboxes, and quantity dropdowns to build a set of filter criteria.This criteria set is used to explicitly request filtered tickets via afind or search button present in the filter module 105. In oneembodiment, the filter module 105 will reset any work done on theinteractive map module 110. This find or search button dispatches amessage to the mediator 120, described in more detail below.

The interactive map may provide several interactive elements to theuser. It can provide a transparent box with section summary information,presented when a user hovers their mouse over a section. It can alsoprovide also a visual representation (map) of the event venue, broken upinto sections. Additionally, it can provide a color-coded aggregation ofsections into “zones”, such as “bleacher” or “loge”. These zones aredisplayed as a list of small colored boxes, outside the map itself. Thecolors of each zone box correspond to the colors of each section withinthat zone. When a section has inventory, the section is colored in onthe map with the color of its parent zone.

There are several actions that a user can take via the interactive map.For example, a mouse can be clicked on an individual section or on oneof the aggregate zone boxes. In each case, a message is dispatched tothe mediator 120. For clicks on an individual section, this messagecontains the id of the section clicked. For clicks on a zone, themessage contains the IDs of all the sections that have this zone astheir “parent.”

The ticket listing module 115 presents an interactive element to theuser: a “sort” link, which can be present at the top of each column.Clicking one of these links will dispatch a message to the mediator 120,described below.

As described above, interaction events are dispatched to the mediator120, a custom javascript application that executes in the user's webbrowser. The mediator 120 is responsible for interpreting thesemessages, constructing a ticket service request, interpreting a ticketservice response, and updating the interactive modules accordingly.

The mediator 120 exposes a simple Application Programming Interface(API) that each module can call when an appropriate interaction event isused. The mediator 120 accepts data via this API and uses it to maintaina persistent internal representation of what a user is requesting.Maintaining this state allows the ability for a user to leave a page andreturn, without losing all of their filtering work. The latest requestedset of filter actions is saved, and used to reconstruct the previoussession if a user returns to the page. In addition, the requests themediator 120 makes to the ticket service 125 can be split into at leasttwo distinct types: filtering tickets by criteria, and retrievingtickets by section IDs. These two request types can exist in ahierarchy, or can be performed independently.

A filter tickets by criteria request can operate against the universe oftickets in the venue, clearing any previously supplied section IDcriteria. A retrieve tickets by section ID request, on the other hand,can operate only against the filtered ticket set, assuming filtercriteria is present.

After receiving a message from one of the primary modules, the mediator120 will assemble an appropriate request string, and initiate an HTMLrequest to the ticket service 125. The ticket service 125 will interpretthis request to determine the nature of ticket retrieval and filteringrequested, execute the request, and return an Extensible Markup Language(XML) data set representing the tickets that match the criteria suppliedby the mediator 120.

Upon receiving the returned ticket data, the mediator 120 can parse thereturned data to extract summary data about the response set, which ituses to update some display areas. These areas include, but are notlimited to, the “total tickets” information provided at the top of thelisting, as well as the pagination links. It also extracts a list of allsection IDs that the current ticket response data matches. The mediator120 can pass this list to the interactive map module 110, which updatesitself to only color the sections that are relevant for the returnedresult set. Along with updating the interactive map, the mediator 120also parses the full listing of tickets and dynamically redraws theticket listing accordingly. At this point, the application is ready toreceive new interaction events, and the cycle repeats.

FIGS. 1B-1I are screen shots illustrating features of a system andmethod of illustrating tickets on an event venue map, according toseveral embodiment of the invention. In FIG. 1B a user is able to selectan event 104. The user is also able to select a price range 106, whichcan include all price ranges, or a designated price range and a quantity111. Once the user selects a price range, the event venue map 101 isshown with sections with available tickets (or tickets otherwise ofinterest) colored in. In one embodiment, the colors used in the sectionscorrespond to which zone the section is in. A zone 103 comprises severalsections 102 that are similarly located, and can coincide withdesignation the venue uses. Available tickets in the sections designatedon the event venue map 101 are listed in 107. Zoom minus 141, zoom plus151, zoom scale 195, and section names 194 features are described inmore detail later. (See FIGS. 4-8.) FIG. 1C is a screen shot where onlyone price range 106 has been designated, the price range of $80-$121.The event venue map 101 illustrates the sections on the map wheretickets in the $80-$121 range are available for sale. In 107, ticketsavailable in the sections designated on the event venue map 101 arelisted. FIG. 1D illustrates a dragger rollover screen 108, which allowsthe user to scroll over a particular section and see how many ticketsare available in that section, and the price range of the tickets. Thus,in this example, in Field Box E, the user can easily and quickly seethat up to 2 seats are available in this section, and are priced between$120 and $133. FIG. 1E illustrates a list of tickets in Field Box E,which is shown when the user clicks on the dragger rollover screen 108.This list shows the exact location of the ticket and the exact price.FIG. 1F illustrates an option of choosing a zone (in this example, thebullpen zone 199) and displaying the tickets available in this zone.FIG. 1G illustrates a “Click Here to Drag” dragger feature 198, whichallows a user to drag the map. FIG. 1H illustrates the use of the “ClickHere to Drag” feature, showing a moved map 197. FIG. 1I illustrates theuse of a rotating pinwheel feature 196.

FIG. 2 shows a method of illustrating where a ticket is located in anevent venue, according to one embodiment of the invention. In 205, theevent page is loaded in interactive map module 110. In 210, the XMLevent ticket listing file is loaded in HTML ticket listing module 115.This is a list of tickets available for sale for a certain event. In215, the height of the event venue map is sent from the FLASH (i.e.,vector graphics file format which adds animation and interactivity toweb pages) interactive map module 110 to the HTML ticket listing module115. This is done because each event venue map has a height differentfrom other event venue maps. In order for elements in the HTML page toget placed properly around the event venue map, the event venue map hasto “tell” the HTML how tall it is. Every event venue map thus has avariable set to its height, which is passed to the HTML on initial pageload. In 220, the event ticket data (i.e., tickets available for sale)is sorted into zones, which are different areas of the venue which aresimilarly located. Each zone can have many sections contained in thatzone. In 225, zone data is sorted numerically from minimum to maximum.Thus, for example, the tickets are sorted from low prices to highprices. Auction prices can be sorted, in one embodiment, according to acurrent auction price. In 230, the quantity of event ticket data istotaled. This indicates how many tickets are available in each sectionand/or certain zone. In 235, all sections on the map are turned off(i.e., no sections are filled in) so that when the user first performs asearch, he has a clear screen. In 240, the map sorts through the XMLfile for any section IDs chosen by the user, which correspond toavailable tickets. In 245, it is determined if any of the section IDsare located on the map. If a section ID is not located on the map, it isnot turned on, and the program ignores it and moves back to 240 to testthe next section. If a section ID is located on the map, it is turned onin 250 and is filled in on the map. An example of sections turned onwhen available tickets are found is illustrated in FIG. 1B. FIG. 1Billustrates an event venue map 101, according to one embodiment of theinvention. The shaded sections designate sections 102 where availabletickets are for sale. In one embodiment, similarly situated sections canbe combined into different zones, which are designated at 103. In 255,it is determined if all sections are turned on. This is a test to see ifevery section in the event's inventory has been mapped. If all inventoryfor the event has been checked and mapped, then the program moves to260. If all sections in the event inventory have not yet been read andmapped, the program goes back to 240 and continues to check the sectionsto see if they need to be turned on. In 260, the sections not turned onare unloaded in order to lighten the processing stress needed to run thevenue map. In 265, the minimum number of seats and the maximum number ofseats in a section is determined. In 270, a minimum price and a maximumprice for seats in a section are established. In 275, colors are set forzones, which as described above, can include several similarly situatedsections. In 280, all sections in the same zone are colored the samecolor.

FIG. 3 illustrates methods of correlating the HTML page of the list oftickets (in ticket listing module 115) with the FLASH event venue map(in interactive map module 110), according to one embodiment of theinvention. In 305, the user filters price and/or quantity. The ticketlist is filtered according to the criteria. In 306, the results areoverlaid on the FLASH event venue map. The sections with availabletickets are highlighted with the appropriate zone color. In 310, theuser selects different event data from a drop down menu after havingalso selected a certain quantity of tickets. In 311, the results areoverlaid on the new event. The sections with inventory are highlightedwith the appropriate zone color. In 315, a user clicks on sections inthe map with available tickets. These sections can be designated aspinned. In 316, the tickets in the section are returned in the list. Allother tickets are removed from the list. In 320, the user clicks onzones in the map with inventory. These sections can be designated aspinned. In 321, the tickets in the zone with inventory are returned inthe list. All other tickets are removed from list.

FIGS. 4-13 illustrate different optional features of the event venuemap, according to several embodiments of the invention. FIG. 4illustrates the zoom minus feature, according to one embodiment of theinvention. The zoom minus feature 141 is illustrated in FIG. 1B.Referring to FIG. 4, in 401, the zoom minus feature is chosen. In 405,it is determined if the event venue map is at minimum zoom. If no, in410, the map size is decreased by 10%. In 415, the zoom pointer is movedto the left 10%. In 420, it is determined if the map is at minimum zoom.If not, the process is finished in 425.

If, in step 405 or step 420, it is determined that yes, the event venuemap is already at minimum zoom, then the process moves to 430. In 430,the ballpark.dragger_visible=0. This means that the dragger is madeinvisible. In one embodiment, the dragger says “Click Here To Drag”, andappears when the event venue map is zoomed in and is used during aprolonged click by the user to move the map around in order to get abetter view of the sections. The dragger features are illustrated inFIGS. 1G and 1H. The dragger is no longer needed when the map is zoomedout to its minimum. In 435, the ballpark is set to original X. In 440,the ballpark is set to original Y. In 445, the ballpark is set tooriginal width. In 450, the ballpark is set to original height. Thus, ifin 405 or 420, it is determined that the event venue map is a itsminimum zoom, then steps 435 and 450 return the event venue map to thezoom setting it was at in 401, which is the minimum zoom.

FIG. 5 illustrates the zoom plus feature, according to one embodiment ofthe invention. The zoom plus feature 151 is illustrated in FIG. 1B.Referring to FIG. 5, in 501, the zoom plus feature is chosen. In 505, itis determined if the event venue map is at maximum zoom. If no, in 510,the map size is increased by 10%. In 515, the zoom pointer is moved tothe right 10%. In 520, the ballpark.dragger._visible=1. This means thatthe dragger “Click Here To Drag” is made visible and available. Theprocess is finished in 525.

FIG. 6 illustrates the zoom scale feature 195 (which is the same as theon zoom pointer release), according to one embodiment of the invention.The zoom scale feature 195 is also illustrated in FIG. 1B. The zoomscale feature allows a user to use a sliding scale to increase ordecrease the zoom, as opposed to using the zoom plus 151 or zoom minus141 feature. Referring to FIG. 6, in 601, the zoom scale feature isturned on by clicking on the sliding scale. In 605, the ballpark is setto the X of the scale chosen by the user's mouse using a pointer. In610, it is determined if the pointer is within the bottom 10% of thescale. If yes, in 615, the pointer is set to the zero position. In620-635, the ballpark is set to its original X, Y, width and height, In640, the ballpark dragger is then set to 0, or off, and is invisible.This is done because the dragger is no longer needed when the ballparkis zoomed to its minimum. If, in 610, it is determined that the zoompointer is not within the bottom 10% of the scale, in 645 and 650, theballpark width is set to the percentage of the maximum width and heightthat corresponds with the pointer location on the zoom scale 195. In655, the ballpark dragger is set to 1 or on, and is visible. In 660, theprocess is finished.

FIG. 7 illustrates the zoom pointer drag, according to one embodiment ofthe invention. The zoom pointer drag allows the user to drag the pointeron the zoom scale. In 770, the zoom pointer is turned on when the movesthe zoom pointer. In 775, the zoom pointer is set to the position x ofthe mouse on the zoom scale 195. In 780, the process is finished.

FIG. 8 illustrates the section names feature 194, according to oneembodiment of the invention In one embodiment, the section names feature194 is illustrated by a pound sign between two brackets (i.e. [#]), asillustrates in FIG. 1B. Clicking on this feature turns all the sectionnames and numbers off and on, depending on its current state at the timeof the click. Thus, in 801, the user clicks on the section namesfeature. In 805, it is determined if the section names feature isvisible. If yes, in 820, the section names feature is set to off (=0).If no, in 810, the section names feature is set to on (=1). In 815 theprocess is finished.

FIGS. 9 and 11 illustrate several dragger features, according to oneembodiment of the invention. As discussed above, the dragger “Click HereTo Drag” allows the user to move the event venue map in order to get abetter view of the sections, and is illustrated in FIGS. 1G-1H. Thedragger rollover feature 193 allows the user to see a hand when themouse is over the “Click Here To Drag” dragger. This allows the user toclick on the dragger and drag the map. The dragger press and releasefeature 192 makes it so that no hand is visible when the mouse is notover the “Click Here To Drag” dragger. Thus, the user may not enable thedragger when the mouse is not over the dragger. Referring to FIG. 9, in901, the on dragger rollover feature is chosen. In 905, the hand iconvisible is set to “on”, and the hand icon is visible. This is a pictureof a hand that is visible over the event venue map, which allows theuser to drag or move the event venue map to see different areas of theballpark. In 915, the process is finished.

In 940, the on dragger rollout feature is chosen. In 945, the hand iconvisible is set to “off”, and the hand icon is not visible. In 950, theprocess is finished.

In 920, the on dragger press feature is chosen. In 925, the hand closes.In 930, the event venue map is dragged or moved to see different areasof the ballpark. In 935, the process is finished.

In 955, the on dragger release feature is chosen. In one embodiment,when the event venue map is zoomed in, a box appears which reads “ClickHere To Drag”. When the user's mouse moves over this box, the cursor isreplaced with a hand. When the user clicks and holds the click whilewithin the box, the “hand” closes as if to grab the map. While the mouseis pressed, the hand remains closed and the ballpark becomes moveable bythe user. When the user releases the mouse, the hand opens, the ballparkis at the location the user moved it to, and the ballpark is no longermoveable. Thus, referring to FIG. 9, in 960, the hand opens, and in 965,the ballpark is not draggable. In 970 and 975, x=hand x, and y=hand y,which means that the event venue stays at the same x and y coordinatesthe user left them when dragging the hand icon. In 980, the process isfinished.

FIG. 11 illustrates the on section rollover and rollout features,according to one embodiment of the invention. The section rolloverfeature is illustrated feature 108 in FIG. 1D. In 1105 it is determinedif the section color is on, meaning that tickets are available in thatsection. If yes, in 1110, the section box visible is set to on, whichmeans that the rollover on top of the section is enabled. In 115, thesection title is added. In 1120, the section's price range is included.In 1125, the section's quantities (i.e., how many tickets) are included.All of this information is shown on the section rollover feature foreach section. In 1135, the process is finished. If, in 1105, the sectioncolor is not on, meaning that tickets are not available in that section,the process ends in 1135.

In 1140, the section rollout feature is chosen. As discussed above, in1110 or 1130, an icon appears over the even venue map as a result of asection rollover. When that section is no longer rolled over, the userrolls out, and whatever appears in 1110 or 1130 is made invisible.

FIG. 10 illustrates one embodiment of how frames are refreshed with aseries of functions, according to one embodiment of the invention. Thoseof ordinary skill in the art will recognize that FLASH maps, in oneembodiment, utilize animated movies, which require a new picture to beshown at certain preset intervals. At these intervals, the frame(s) isrefreshed with a new picture. Referring to FIG. 10, in 1001, the frameis entered. In 1005, the section box's X and Y coordinates are set tothat of the mouse so that it appears to move with the mouse whenvisible. In 1010, the unavailable (or not available NA) seats object's Xand Y coordinates are set to those of the mouse so they also appear tomove with the mouse. In 1015, a rotating pinwheel 191 rotates(illustrated on FIG. 1I). The rotating pinwheel 191 indicates to theuser that the event venue map is interactive. In 1020, the background NAballpark object (which represents no ticket inventory) is set to thesame X and Y coordinates as the ballpark object (which representsavailable ticket inventory) so that it moves with the ballpark in caseof a zoom interaction. In 1025 and 1030, the ballpark's width and heightadjust to whatever the zoom Slider's position is. In 1035, the hand's Xand Y coordinates are set to those of the mouse so that it also appearsto move with the mouse when visible.

FIG. 12 illustrates the section click feature, according to oneembodiment of the invention. The section click feature is shown asfeature 109 in FIG. 1E. In 1205, the section ID is sent to the HTMLticket listing module 115. In 1210, it is determined if the section pinis on, meaning if there is a circle over the section that is chosen. Ifyes, in 1215, the section's pin is set to visible. In 1220, it isdetermined if all sections in the zone are pinned. If yes, the section'szones are checked. In 1240, the process is finished. If the answer to1210 is no, in 1230, the section's pin is set to not visible. In 1235,the section's zone is unchecked. The process then finishes in 1240.

FIG. 13 illustrate the zone click feature, according to one embodimentof the invention. The zone click feature is shown as feature 118 in FIG.1F. In 1305, it is determined if the zone check is on. If no, in 1310,it is determined if the section in the zone is pinned. If no, in 1315,the section is pinned, meaning that a circle is put on it. In 1320, thesection ID is sent to the HTML ticket listing module 115. In 1325, it isdetermined if all sections in the zone are pinned. If yes, the section'szone is checked. If no, the process returns to 1310.

If the answer to 1305 is yes, and the zone check is on, in 1335 allsection IDs in the zone are sent to the HTML ticket listing module 115.In 1340, all sections in the zone are unpinned. In 1345, the section'szone is unchecked. In 1350, the process finished.

Conclusion

While various embodiments of the present invention have been describedabove, it should be understood that they have been presented by way ofexample, and not limitation. It will be apparent to persons skilled inthe relevant art(s) that various changes in form and detail can be madetherein without departing from the spirit and scope of the presentinvention. In fact, after reading the above description, it will beapparent to one skilled in the relevant art(s) how to implement theinvention in alternative embodiments. Thus, the present invention shouldnot be limited by any of the above-described exemplary embodiments.

In addition, it should be understood that the figures, algorithms, andcomputer code, which highlight the functionality and advantages of thepresent invention, are presented for example purposes only. Thearchitecture of the present invention is sufficiently flexible andconfigurable, such that it may be utilized in ways other than that shownin the accompanying figures, algorithms, and equations.

Further, the purpose of the Abstract of the Disclosure is to enable theU.S. Patent and Trademark Office and the public generally, andespecially the scientists, engineers and practitioners in the art whoare not familiar with patent or legal terms or phraseology, to determinequickly from a cursory inspection the nature and essence of thetechnical disclosure of the application. The Abstract of the Disclosureis not intended to be limiting as to the scope of the present inventionin any way.

1. A method of illustrating locations of available tickets in an eventvenue, comprising: presenting, by a web browser of a client computingdevice, a user interface allowing a user to perform a search of ticketslisted for sale by a ticket service; accepting, at the user interface,event criteria for at least one ticket and at least one event;displaying, by the web browser, an interactive graphics-based eventvenue map for the event venue illustrating locations of sections havingtickets meeting the event criteria located at the event venue;accepting, at the interactive graphics-based event venue map, aparticular section of interest in response to the user selecting theparticular section from the interactive graphics-based event venue map;and displaying ticket information corresponding to tickets located inthe particular section of interest as an overlay on the interactivegraphics-based event venue map.
 2. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising receiving price criteria for the at least one event.
 3. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising displaying a ticket listingcorresponding to tickets meeting the event criteria.
 4. The method ofclaim 1, further comprising displaying prices at which tickets to the atleast one event have been sold.
 5. The method of claim 1, furthercomprising displaying a number of available tickets within one or moresections at the event venue.
 6. The method of claim 1, wherein theoverlay is displayed when the user hovers a mouse over a section on theinteractive graphics-based event venue map.
 7. The method of claim 1,wherein the interactive graphics-based event venue map is shown in colorcoded sections.
 8. The method of claim 7, further comprising displayinga list of colored boxes outside the interactive graphics-based eventvenue map corresponding to the colored coded sections.
 9. The method ofclaim 7, wherein only the color coded sections have ticket availability.10. The method of claim 1, wherein the overlay displays a number oftickets available and a price range for the tickets available in theparticular section of interest.
 11. A system residing on a computingdevice comprising non-transitory computer code that, when executed bythe computing device, causes the computing device to perform a methodfor illustrating locations of available tickets in an event venue, themethod comprising: presenting a user interface allowing a user toperform a search of tickets listed for sale by a ticket service;accepting, at the user interface, event criteria for at least one ticketand at least one event; displaying an interactive graphics-based eventvenue map for the event venue illustrating locations of sections havingtickets meeting the event criteria located at the event venue;accepting, at the interactive graphics-based event venue map, aparticular section of interest in response to the user selecting theparticular section from the interactive graphics-based event venue map;and displaying ticket information corresponding to tickets located inthe particular section of interest as an overlay on the interactivegraphics-based event venue map.
 12. The system of claim 11, wherein themethod further comprises receiving price criteria for the at least oneevent.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the method further comprisesdisplaying a ticket listing corresponding to tickets meeting the eventcriteria.
 14. The system of claim 11, wherein the method furthercomprises displaying prices at which tickets to the at least one eventhave been sold.
 15. The system of claim 11, wherein the method furthercomprises displaying a number of available tickets within one or moresections at the event venue.
 16. The system of claim 11, wherein theoverlay is displayed when the user hovers a mouse over a section on theinteractive graphics-based event venue map.
 17. The system of claim 11,wherein the interactive graphics-based event venue map is shown in colorcoded sections.
 18. The system of claim 17, further comprisingdisplaying a list of colored boxes outside the interactivegraphics-based event venue map corresponding to the colored codedsections.
 19. The system of claim 17, wherein only the color codedsections have ticket availability.
 20. The system of claim 11, whereinthe overlay displays a number of tickets available and a price range forthe tickets available in the particular section of interest.